The One Year Bible for Men - Flipbook - Page 89
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July 28
THE MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH || T
hose of us who believe Christ is our Savior
heard it somewhere from someone, and we are grateful. But do our lives show what we
believe? If we really believed Jesus is the only way to the Father, wouldn’t we spend some
time sharing the truth that someone shared with us? Not everyone will be a natural at
walking up to strangers or even friends and telling them the Good News. But there are
always opportunities—letters, emails, or texts—to deliver the eternal message of life.
07_Jul_OY_Men.indd 667
“This is what the Lord, the God of your
ancestor David, says: You have not
followed the good example of your father,
Jehoshaphat, or your grandfather King
Asa of Judah. 13 Instead, you have been as
evil as the kings of Israel. You have led the
people of Jerusalem and Judah to worship
idols, just as King Ahab did in Israel. And
you have even killed your own brothers,
men who were better than you. 14 So now
the Lord is about to strike you, your
people, your children, your wives, and
all that is yours with a heavy blow. 15 You
yourself will suffer with a severe intestinal
disease that will get worse each day until
your bowels come out.”
J u ly 2 8
2 CHRONICLES 21:1–23:21
When Jehoshaphat died, he was buried with
his ancestors in the City of David. Then his son
Jehoram became the next king.
2 Jehoram’s brothers—the other sons of
Jehoshaphat—were Azariah, Jehiel, Zecha
riah, Azariahu, Michael, and Shephatiah; all
these were the sons of Jehoshaphat king of
Judah.* 3 Their father had given each of them
valuable gifts of silver, gold, and costly items,
and also some of Judah’s fortified towns. How
ever, he designated Jehoram as the next king
because he was the oldest. 4 But when Jeho
ram had become solidly established as king,
he killed all his brothers and some of the other
leaders of Judah.
5 Jehoram was thirty-two years old when
he became king, and he reigned in Jerusa
lem eight years. 6 But Jehoram followed the
example of the kings of Israel and was as
wicked as King Ahab, for he had married one
of Ahab’s daughters. So Jehoram did what was
evil in the Lord’s sight. 7 But the Lord did not
want to destroy David’s dynasty, for he had
made a covenant with David and promised
that his descendants would continue to rule,
shining like a lamp forever.
8 During Jehoram’s reign, the E
domites re
volted against Judah and crowned their own
king. 9 So Jehoram went out with his full army
and all his c hario
ts. The E
domites surrounded
him and his chariot commanders, but he went
out at night and attacked them* under cover
of darkness. 10 Even so, Edom has been inde
pendent from Judah to this day. The town of
Libnah also revolted about that same time. All
this happened because Jehoram had aban
doned the Lord, the God of his ancestors. 11 He
had built pagan shrines in the hill country of
Judah and had led the people of Jerusalem
and Judah to give themselves to pagan gods
and to go astray.
12 Then Elijah the prophet wrote Jehoram
this letter:
16 Then the Lord stirred up the Philistines
and the Arabs, who lived near the E
thiopians,*
to attack Jehoram. 17 They marched against
Judah, broke down its defenses, and carried
away everything of value in the royal palace,
including the king’s sons and his wives. Only
his youngest son, Ahaziah,* was spared.
18 After all this, the Lord struck Jehoram
with an incurable intestinal disease. 19 The
disease grew worse and worse, and at the end
of two years it caused his bowels to come out,
and he died in agony. His people did not build
a great funeral fire to honor him as they had
done for his ancestors.
20 Jehoram was thirty-two years old when
he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem
eight years. No one was sorry when he died.
They buried him in the City of David, but not
in the royal cemetery.
22:1 Then the people of Jerusalem made Aha
ziah, Jehoram’s youngest son, their next king,
since the marauding bands who came with
the Arabs* had killed all the older sons. So
Ahaziah son of Jehoram reigned as king of
Judah.
2 Ahaziah was twenty-two* years old when
he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem
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